Jen's Blog of Random Thoughts

I am a photographer, Graphic Designer and a stay-at-home-mom who enjoys blogging and writing reviews. Photography and cars are my passion. I post about various topics including health & beauty, events, automotive, music, film, travel, food, and sometimes giveaway contests.

Sunday, July 29, 2018

Go behind the scenes of the production of "The Fast and The Furious" and "2 Fast 2 Furious," the movies that launched a multi-billion dollar franchise and reignited the motoring passion for millions of fans globally. Written by the film's Technical Advisor, Craig Lieberman, who not only consulted on the film, but also owned and built several of the main cars for the movies including his own personal Toyota Supra Turbo, his R34 Nissan Skyline GT-R and his Nissan Maxima. Lieberman worked closely with Universal's production and post-production teams and consulted on every aspect of the film's production, from the dialog and the vehicle selection to marketing and Home Theater release.

MY THOUGHTS:

If you are a car enthusiast and/or a fan of the Fast and Furious film series, you’ll enjoy this book called “Crashing Cars: How a Motion Picture Franchise Turned it into an Art” written by Craig Lieberman. This is the 3rd edition that was released in June of 2017. In his book, Craig shares about his experiences and talks about how he got involved with Universal Pictures. There’s a lot of great details on the discussion of what car was assigned to each movie character, how the “hero cars” came about, modifications, special effects, and much more. It’s pretty fascinating to know how everything is put together of the stunts in the filming as well.

I remember when I first watched the film at the theatre. My first reaction was how excited I was to see the film that is based on the import scene. I also enjoyed the creativity of the special effects. Before, I wasn’t really a fan of the flashy graphics, but it grew on me over the years and I notice more cars out there at car shows that had these cool designs. And being a Graphic Designer, I found interest in designing my own vinyl graphics for my Honda Civic. I’ll talk more about how my passion grew for tuning cars in another post.

You won't expect to see any photos in the book if you’re wondering, but you can find them available through Craig’s Instagram account @craiglieberman_42 with descriptions. Some of the information are also on his Instagram that might not have been mentioned in the book. It is definitely a good read and inspiring for those with the passion for cars and tuning as well as to learn more about the cars used in the films.

Friday, June 15, 2018

Pizzer was invented and collaborated on by 2 culinary trained chefs with over 30 years of experience in the pizzeria industry and owned one of the most popular pizzerias in New York City and Long Island. Our recipes go back decades and have been perfected through years of experience and culinary training. After years of our out of state customers at our Pizzeria would comment and say “you guys have the best pizza, I wish you delivered to Maryland or Florida or New Jersey”. At first we laughed it off but then we created a method that affords us the opportunity to deliver our pizza and maintain the exact same quality as if our customers got it right out of our oven in house.

Whether you enjoy cooking in your home or love the taste of a hot fresh pizza right out of the oven or you want both, Pizzer offers, not “New York style pizza” but real and authentic New York Pizza with ingredients that were created and made right here in New York by New Yorkers with absolutely top quality products. We use the best tomatoes for our sauce and the best cheese money can buy and our dough recipe goes back decades. We hope you will take the opportunity to enjoy making your own pizza at home and more importantly enjoy having a hot fresh pizza right of your own oven. Buon Appetito!!

Open To US residents ONLY in the following states; New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Must be 18+ to enter

Please Note: Sorry for the inconvenience, but the giveaway form will only give me the option to exclude a handful of states in the giveaway. Please make sure that you are not entering this giveaway from any other state other than the ones mentioned above. If you enter the giveaway anyway, and are chosen as a winner, you will not be able to collect your prize.

What's Included In The Subscription Box:Ingredients to make 2 pizzasChoice of topping for each pizza2 Pan Pizzer Cooking SetRolling PinPizza Cutter($55 RV)

Open To US residents ONLY in the
following states: New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island,
Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Must be 18+ to
enter,

Please Note:
Sorry for the inconvenience, but the giveaway form will only give me
the option to exclude a handful of states in the giveaway. Please make
sure that you are not entering this giveaway from any other state other
than the ones mentioned above. If you enter the giveaway anyway, and are
chosen as a winner, you will not be able to collect your prize.

Giveaway event will end at 11:59 PM (EST) on July 14, 2018. The winner will have 48 hours to email their information back.Also we all “love it if you like us” on Facebook! If you like our blogs on social media it helps us bring you only the best giveaways and more of them! Enter below and Good Luck!

Disclosure: Bloggers in this giveaway were not compensated and are not responsible for prize fulfillment. This giveaway is in no way endorsed, affiliated, or associated with Facebook, Twitter or any other Social Media Networking Site. You are not eligible if you have won a prize from any of the sponsors in the last 12 months.

I was recently introduced to Got2b Fresh it Up Dry Shampoo and received a complimentary product to try. It was a bit pricey for a small bottle. Out of the three selections available, I chose the Clean & Refresh as that one seems more suitable for my hair type. I've never used dry shampoo in the past nor really know much about it. I learned that the Got2b Dry Shampoo is suitable for all hair types and it gives you a clean and crisp fragrance that lasts all day. This dry shampoo instantly absorbs oil without leaving white residues.

How to use: Hold can 8 – 10 inches from dry hair, section hair & spray into roots. Use in short bursts. Using your fingertips or a towel, massage scalp thoroughly to distribute & brush out excess. Now you are freshed up for another day!

MY THOUGHTS

What I like is that it instantly makes my hair look less oily. I have long and somewhat straight hair. Sometimes my hair appears oily at the roots after a workout or when I wake up in the morning. This product is great for traveling and on-the-go when you miss a day or two to wash your hair in the shower.

What I didn't like are some of the ingredients in the product such as butane and propane. As with any aerosol sprays, it's usually flamable. See below for the ingredient list.

Disclosure: I received samples of the above product(s) for my review in this post as part of the Chick Advisor Review Club Campaign. My opinions are my own and may differ from those of other consumers. No other compensation was given.

Thursday, June 14, 2018

The limited edition Voortman S'mores Wafers are made with real cocoa. No artificial colour, flavour, or high fructose corn syrup. Includes heating instructions on the pack. A convenient way to enjoy this campfire treat!

I've always loved Voortman cookie products. Finally, we have the S'mores wafers packs in Canada. My boys love them and I pack a few for their school snacks. These S'mores wafers are so good! I couldn't just eat one, but had to have a few more. If you want to eat one right away, microwaving the wafers for 5-10 seconds was a really good idea because it tastes even better warm, just like the real S'mores.

Disclosure: I received free samples of the above product(s) for my review in this post as part of the FamilyRated Review Club Campaign. My opinions are my own and may differ from those of other consumers. No other compensation was given.

When I heard about the new Quaker Overnight Oats, I was excited to try them. I've never had oatmeal cold, so it was a bit odd for me. At night, you simply add milk, place in the fridge to cold-steep, and leave overnight until the morning. Then breakfast will be ready when you wake up.

I wake up in the morning, always feeling a rush to get ready to head out and then remembered my overnight oats. I didn't really like the texture too much. The oats were a bit chewy when it's cold. I would've prefered it warm. Instead, what I did was pour the contents into a microwaveable bowl and warmed it up in the microwave for about 20 seconds. After having it heated, it was a lot better! I tried both flavors on different days and they both tasted good.

If you want it creamier, add a few tablespoons of yogurt. You can also adjust the amount of milk used to achieve your desired consistency.

Disclosure: I received samples of the above product(s) for my review in this post as part of the Influenster Campaign. My opinions are my own and may differ from those of other consumers. No other compensation was given.

Monday, June 11, 2018

Escape to the Caribbean with this delicious rum-based cocktail. A rich
mixture of pineapple and coconut flavours with just the right amount of
sweetness.

Mott’s Mr & Mrs T is the category leader in
cocktail mixes that provides an easy solution for mixing
cocktails/mocktails when entertaining at home. Since consumers like
variety, Mott’s Mr & Mrs T is offering more variety to choose from
to make it easier for consumers have more diversity on hand.

Bring out your inner mixologist and use Mott's* Mr & Mrs T* at your next social gathering to create delightful cocktails (or mocktails). They are offered in 5 delicious flavours:

Mott's* Mr & Mrs T* Mai Tai Cocktail Mix

Mott's* Mr & Mrs T* Blue Raspberry Martini Cocktail Mix

Mott's* Mr & Mrs T* Margarita Cocktail Mix

Mott's* Mr & Mrs T* Strawberry Daiquiri Cocktail Mix

Mott's* Mr & Mrs T* Pina Colada Cocktail Mix

Out of the five flavours of the Mott's Mr & Mrs T Cocktail mixes to choose from, it was a hard decision to pick just one. I finally chose the Pina Colada. I prepared it and shared the drinks with my family. We enjoyed it. I found it a little too sweet so I added some more ice to my mix. It was very good and refreshing. This product has the perfect blend of rich pineapple and coconut flavours, with a deliciously sweet finish; great tropical flavor.

Disclosure: I received samples of the above product(s) for my review in this post as part of the Chick Advisor Review Club Campaign. My opinions are my own and may differ from those of other consumers. No other compensation was given.

Friday, June 8, 2018

All throughout June you can earn large bonuses when sign up as my referral on Swagbucks. Swagbucks is a rewards site where you earn points (called SB) for things you're probably doing online already, like searching the web, watching videos, shopping, discovering deals, and taking surveys. Then you take those points and exchange them for gift cards to places like Amazon, Target, or PayPal cash.

When you sign up through me this month, you can earn a 500 SB bonus! Here's how: